Open natural ecosystems (ONEs), such as tropical grasslands, are among the most threatened habitats on Earth today. The long-term monitoring of ONEs is an important research domain that is essential for understanding anthropogenic impacts and facilitating conservation action. Using a simple day-listing method over a 13-year period, we studied species trends in a central Indian grassland–agriculture mosaic experiencing several land-use changes. Our results indicate that some grassland species (such as the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps) showed steep declines during the study period, while other generalist species (such as the Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus) showed an increasing trend. Daily listing also revealed distinct seasonal patterns, and we discuss the Great Indian Bustard and Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus as examples. Our study highlights the utility of consistent checklist surveys to monitor population trends of bird communities within a changing landscape.

One-year time-lapse images acquired via an autonomous photo imaging device positioned at a depth of 20 m in Tethys Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) on a rocky bottom colonized by the sponge Mycale (Oxymycale) acerata were analysed. Monthly changes in the abundance and activity of the sea star Odontaster validus and sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri on the sponge and nearby rocky bottom were compared with respect to environmental variables such as pack-ice presence/absence, temperature, salinity and photosynthetically active radiation. Sea urchins were more abundant on the rocky bottom and sponge during the summer and winter, respectively. Sea stars showed a decrease in the number of individuals on the sponge from January to December. The grazing activity of both species reached its maximum in January–April, when increased sunlight contributed to the phytoplankton bloom. The winter months were critical both for O. validus and S. neumayeri; although the red sea star maintained its pattern of activity on the rocky bottoms in terms of searching for food, the sea urchin reduced its activity. Time-lapse monitoring systems coupled with physicochemical sensors showed potential for revealing species behaviour in polar environments, contributing to the elucidation of future changes in coastal communities facing climate change.

The Maser Monitoring Organisation is a collection of researchers exploring the use of time-variable maser emission in the investigation of astrophysical phenomena. The forward directed aspects of research primarily involve using maser emission as a tool to investigate star formation. Simultaneously, these activities have deepened knowledge of maser emission itself in addition to uncovering previously unknown maser transitions. Thus a feedback loop is created where both the knowledge of astrophysical phenomena and the utilised tools of investigation themselves are iteratively sharpened. The project goals are open-ended and constantly evolving, however, the reliance on radio observatory maser monitoring campaigns persists as the fundamental enabler of research activities within the group.

Monitoring population trends is important for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation interventions. An annual aerial census of three crane species, the Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum, Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus and Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus, was performed in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa over the past 23 years. These crane species are listed as ‘Endangered’, ‘Vulnerable’, and ‘Vulnerable’, respectively, on the IUCN Red List. KwaZulu-Natal was chosen as a key site for monitoring as it covers an important region for cranes that has received concerted conservation effort since the 1980s. These annual surveys are conducted by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, a provincial conservation agency, and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a conservation non-profit organisation. We estimated crane population trends from data collected by means of standardised surveys conducted between 2003 and 2019. Results from the surveys show a steady and significant increase in the population size of all three crane species. Interventions including power line collision mitigation and engagement with landowners have been implemented in formal conservation programs to protect these cranes. Results from the annual census suggest that conservation interventions have been effective.

Parasites are important components of biodiversity and contributors to ecosystem functioning, but are often neglected in ecological studies. Most studies examine model parasite systems or single taxa, thus our understanding of community composition is lacking. Here, the seasonal and annual dynamics of parasites was quantified using a 5-year metabarcoding time-series of freshwater plankton, collected weekly. We first identified parasites in the dataset using literature searches of the taxonomic match and using sequence metadata from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) nucleotide database. In total, 441 amplicon sequence variants (belonging to 18 phyla/clades) were classified as parasites. The four phyla/clades with the highest relative read abundance and richness were Chytridiomycota, Dinoflagellata, Oomycota and Perkinsozoa. Relative read abundance of total parasite taxa, Dinoflagellata and Perkinsozoa significantly varied with season and was highest in summer. Parasite richness varied significantly with season and year, and was generally lowest in spring. Each season had distinct parasite communities, and the difference between summer and winter communities was most pronounced. Combining DNA metabarcoding with searches of the literature and NCBI metadata allowed us to characterize parasite diversity and community dynamics and revealed the extent to which parasites contribute to the diversity of freshwater plankton communities.

Epiphytic lichens are sensitive to deteriorating air quality, but levels of nitrogen and especially sulphur deposition have been in decline over most of Europe in recent decades. We assessed the response of epiphytic lichens to this decline, using data from long-term monitoring sites in Sweden. We analyzed 20 years of data to investigate temporal trends in lichen communities’ sensitivity to sulphur, nitrogen preference, species richness and alpha and beta diversity. We found only limited and partial evidence of recovery in the area that previously had high levels of deposition, and a decline in mean sulphur sensitivity at a northern site with low deposition levels throughout the monitoring period. The slow recolonization of sensitive species, even where environmental conditions are now suitable, is probably a result of impoverished regional species pools and the inherent limited dispersal capacity of many lichen species. We suggest due consideration of these factors in the use of epiphytic lichens as environmental indicators in a period of improving air quality.

Surface radiocarbon (Δ14C) in the North Pacific has been monitored using a commercial volunteer observation ship since the early 2000s. Here we report the temporal and spatial variations in Δ14C in the summer surface water when the surface ocean is vertically stratified over a 13-yr period, 2004–2016. The long-term Δ14C decreasing trend after the late 1970s in the subtropical region has continued to the present and the rate of decrease of the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension, North Pacific and California current areas is calculated to be –3.3, –5.2 and –3.3 ‰/yr, respectively. After 2012 the Δ14C of the Kuroshio and Kuroshio Extension area, however, has remained at an approximately constant value of around 50‰. The result may indicate that subtropical surface Δ14C in the western North Pacific has reached an equilibrium with atmospheric Δ14CO2. The Δ14C in the subarctic region is markedly lower than values in the subtropical region and it seems that the decreasing tendency of surface Δ14C has changed to an increasing tendency after 2010. The results may indicate that bomb-produced 14C, which has accumulated below the mixed layer in the past few decades, has been entrained into the surface layer by deep convection.

We monitored egg clutch numbers of a population of the endemic Italian agile frog Rana latastei in a Site of Community Interest in northern Italy (SCI IT 209000) during 1997–2017 with the aim of assessing the long-term variation in its abundance. We walked along the banks of canals and small ponds (n = 22) 1–3 times per week between early February and mid-April each year to detect egg clutches. The relationships between the start of the breeding season, yearly egg mass counts, rate of yearly change in the number of recorded egg masses and 15 climatic and environmental variables were assessed by multiple regression. The first deposition of eggs occurred progressively later in the year throughout the study period and mean air temperature during the breeding season decreased over this period. Agile frogs showed high deposition site-fidelity. Despite large variations in the number of egg clutches detected from year to year, the population size remained stable in the long term. Peaks in the number of egg clutches occurred 2 years after the dredging of canals, carried out every 4–6 years to improve water availability, starting in 2004 as part of a LIFE Nature Project. This was the only predictor of the number of egg clutches deposited, suggesting that periodical management is needed to support the agile frog population. Our results reinforce the need for multi-year monitoring to determine both the long-term success of habitat restoration projects and the status of residual populations.

Objectives and Background: In patients with medically refractory seizures 20–30% do not have epilepsy, and the majority are diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES). Almost one-third of this group has a prolonged episode that is termed as PNES status epilepticus (PNES-SE). The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients with (1) PNES-SE only and (2) PNES-SE with concurrent epileptic seizures.

Methods: We screened retrospectively all patients who underwent video-electroencephalogram (video-EEG) long-term monitoring at our institution between 1996 and 2009. Patients with PNES were identified by typical clinical features with no ictal EEG changes. Patients with continuous episodes for at least 30 min that led to intubation were identified as PNES-SE. They were divided into two groups: group 1, pure PNES-SE and group 2, PNES-SE with concurrent epilepsy. Group characteristics were defined with respect to demographic, clinical, electroencephalographic, neuroimaging and psychiatric variables.

Results: PNES were recorded in 88/916 patients (10%) of whom 6 (7%) were treated intensively due to misdiagnosis of status epilepticus (SE), with two having coexistent epileptic seizures. All patients had concurrent psychiatric disorder(s), diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Duration of time until correct diagnosis was lengthy in all cases, and particularly for patients with PNES-SE with coexisting epileptic seizures (more than 10 years).

Conclusion: To avoid iatrogenic complications and to treat the underlying psychiatric conditions, early diagnosis of PNES is necessary. Understanding the clinical characteristics of PNES-SE leads to early diagnoses, which may avoid iatrogenesis and economic burden.

In order to better understand community-level effects of fishing on temperate reefs at continental scales, changes in densities of common species in five Australian marine protected areas (MPAs) were estimated from prior to establishment to three years after enforcement of fishing prohibitions. A before-after-control-impact survey design was used, with 5–14 replicated sites distributed within both sanctuary and fishing zones associated with each MPA. On the basis of published meta-analyses, exploited species were generally expected to show increased densities. By contrast, only two of the 11 exploited fish species (the red morwong Cheilodactylus fuscus and latrid trumpeter Latridopsis forsteri), and none of seven exploited invertebrate species, showed significant signs of population recovery within sanctuary zones. Four fish species increased in biomass between survey periods. When variation in abundance data was partitioned by PERMANOVA independently for the five MPAs, the ‘zone × year’ interaction component consistently contributed only c. 4% of total variation, compared to site (c. 35%), zone (c. 8%), year (c. 8%) and residual error (c. 45%) components. Given that longer-term Australian studies show clear community-wide responses following MPA protection, the discrepancy between weak observed recovery and a priori expectations is probably due, at least in part, to the three-year period studied being insufficient to generate clear trends, to relatively low fishing pressure on some temperate Australian reefs, and to meta-analyses overestimating the likelihood of significant short-term population responses.

In running water, the main natural factor of disturbance is hydraulic. Investigation of its biological impact is currently complicated by the increase of anthropogenic disturbances which tend to mask the natural functioning of rivers. Monitoring of the impacts of the artificial alterations undergone by the Middle Rhone River for some decades took place in the mid-1980s. Discharge and temperature could constitute the major events controlling the biological dynamics in terms of variations in species richness, diversity, and abundance. The between-years changes of the structure and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities were connected with the amplitude of discharge fluctuations. This was in accordance with the disturbance-diversity concept and it seems to confirm the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. The fish community mainly depended on hydroclimatic factors that influenced breeding success. Variations in nutrient input played a secondary role in controlling changes in some communities (particularly the periphyton). Therefore it appears that the study of long-term changes in river systems, including the dynamics of their biological communities, requires continuous observations and data collection that only medium- to long-term studies can provide, implying the setting up of ecological monitoring centres for the natural environment such as the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites in United.

Part II of this paper contains some general considerations on tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) monitoring. Long-term assessment of TCA plasma levels is advised by the few existent studies, although each of these focusses on different aspects. Cardiovascular and central nervous system toxicity is reviewed as well as pharmacokinetics and the importance of protein binding. Some consideration is also given to their use in elderly patients. The authors conclude that although available data support its usefulness in many situations, routine measurement of TCA levels is not warranted.